Colombia: Riot police attempt to crush student strike

A student protest ended in violence after riot police sought to intervene on campus at Universidad Distrital in Bogota on Thursday.

Officers fired volleys of tear gas from a high position on Avenida Circunvalar overlooking the university. Students with covered faces returned fire, using makeshift shields as defense. A riot van was briefly set on fire after being targeted with Molotov cocktails. One policeman was injured in the clashes.

The protest was part of a nationwide student strike at public universities over the government's higher-education policy.